Day 26 Get on your bike

If you haven't discovered it yet the Bristol to Bath cycle path is fantastic, family friendly place to take a closer look at nature. At this time of year the route is full of wild foods, from blackberries to damsons, and apples to elderberries.The flat, traffic free path is an ideal place to take a first bike ride or for those more experienced, to get all the way to Bath from Bristol (or visa versa) stopping at the old railway station cafe on route for refreshments. If I have any left when I get home I love making blackberry muffins with my foraged finds.You can access the cycle path at many points along the route which has been photographed in both directions. Stop off along the way with a picnic and investigate the hedgerows, use the OPAL biodiversity survey to help you identify the different plants that might be growing in them.

Day 25 Be a ladybird detective

Take a trip to your local park, or even just go out into your garden and see how many types of ladybird you can find. Use our spotter sheet to help you identify the different species and discover the variety of colours and markings on ladybirds that can be found in your neighbourhood. There are 46 different species of ladybird living in Britain, you can find out more and even play some ladybird themed games here

However, watch out for the Harlequin ladybird. This is an invasive species and is a danger to our native ladybirds, out competing them for food and spreading across the country rapidly. You can learn more about all the ladybirds to be found in the UK and how the Harlequin ladybird came to be here in this short video. You can also do your bit to help by participating in the Harlequin ladybird survey.

happy hunting!

Day 24 Go wild on the bus

Fancy a little tour of the some of the best sites in Bristol? Then download our Wildbus podcast and hop onto the number 40 bus, which runs from the city centre to Cribbs causeway. You can hop on or off the bus along the route and discover Avon Gorge and Downs, Blaise castle estate, Lawerence Weston Moor and Lawrence Weston city farm. Listen to stories and memories along the way, find out about the wildlife that inhabits the city and discover how wildlife film maker, Simon King's childhood explorations around Sea Mills shaped his future career.

Day 23 Go batty and have a great night out

Have you experienced the magic out walking through a wood at dusk and coming across a bat as it darts around the twilight sky in search of its supper? Did you know that if you live in South Gloucestershire, you can visit your local library and pick up a bat audio trail pack with a bat detector and all the information you need to go out exploring one of the bat audio trails created by South Gloucestershire Council's Wild Roots and Wildways Projects.

There are four award winning trails in Hanham, Warmley, Wick and Willsbridge and you can download guides to the trails here and a trail pack, with information about how to use the bat detector and more information about bats in general, here.

If you love all things batty, then take a look at our Bats for Bath website, this contains a podcast for our Browns Folly nature reserve which has a series of old mines, providing a fantastic winter roosting spot for several species of bat. Take a walk around the site and discover what makes it a valuable home to bats, learn about the importance of the species rich grasslands that provide so much food for the 12 species of bat that live here.

Finally, did you know....... that if we had ears as big as the long eared bat, they would reach down to our waists! 

Day 22 - Secret trails, tree climbing and mini dens

Summer is a great time to go exploring with your friends! Have a look on our website to find a nature reserve near you, or try the Visit Woods site to discover somewhere new to go. There are lots of things you can do when out and about in a wild place, try making a trail to a summer treasure or find a large tree to climb. When you are hidden amongst the leaves, sit really quietly and look around, the quieter you are the more wildlife you will see. Imagine being a baby bird in a nest or a spider building a web or even a caterpillar nibbling away at a leaf.

All creatures need air, water, food and shelter so why not build a mini shelter for an imaginary creature of the woods, using sticks, leaves, moss,and anything else you can find. See if you can camouflage it at the base of a tree or under a large fern perhaps, to keep your creature safe from predators. Get your friend to make one too and then compare the two. Did you create luxury accommodation or a budget hostel?

Day 21 Deer walk

Book now for tomorrow's deer walk at Ashton Court, just 2 miles from Bristol city centre, for a chance to go on a guided walk with one of the estate rangers through the deer parks of this lovely estate. Pre-booking is essential through the Estates office on 0117 9639 174 where details of where to meet will also be given. The walk costs £2 per person and will give you the chance to see both fallow deer and red deer within the 850 acres of woodland and meadows of the estate.

The red deer is our largest land mammal, they have reddish brown coats and the males have large, branched antlers. The antlers start to develop at around 10 months of age and are shed annually in March and April. The mating season, known as the rut, is an impressive wildlife spectacle, occurring in the Autumn. The male deer, stags roar loudly, sizing up other males to gain access to the females. Conflict can result in serious injury or even death. Antlers were used as hunting trophies and carved to make early jewellery and buttons.  and continues to be used to make handles for anything from hunting knives to walking sticks

After your walk enjoy the views across Bristol and explore Ashton Court meadow, Avon Wildlife Trust's nature reserve, then head back to town across the famous Clifton Suspension bridge.

Day 21 Folly Farm Centre

For a full wildlife safari, take a trip to the Chew Valley for some stunning landscapes and wonderful walks. Start off at Chew Valley lake where you can follow the nature trails around the water's edge, full leaflets are available to download for both the Grebe trail and the Bittern trail. Walk through the wildflower meadows and shady woodlands to the bird hide and get a spectacular view across the water to Denny island where you can use our spotter sheet to look for summer waders. Then refuel in the cafe at the car park before heading off to explore the fantastic nature reserve at Folly farm. 

Well recommended is a circular walk through the woodlands up to Round Hill for spectacular views over the Chew Valley and back through the wildflower meadows. Discover the historic landscape of the ferme ornée with it's restored cascades and, later on, find the badger watching spot on the Access for All trail and wait for the badgers to come out foraging at dusk. A truly magical end to the day.